Marc A. Recognized by The Women's Center of Columbia/Montour Inc.

Milton PATH AEP student Marc A. was recognized as an "Outstanding Citizen" for his commitment and service to The Women's Center of Columbia/Montour, Inc.

Romeo and Juliet

This past week the students have read and acted out the play Romeo and Juliet. Today, we went to see the play acted out by a professional group of actors at the Williamsport Community Arts Center. After watching the play, the class went out for Pizza.

The students also decided to try test their acting abilities by filming a few scenes from the play. 

International Credit Union Day

Students will do just about anything for food. To celebrate International Credit Union Day, the Northumberland County Schools Federal Credit Union put out a free hot dog and soup stand at the credit union. Mr. Eck, not wanting to pass up free food either, challenged his students to come up with questions to ask Brenda Raker, the CEO of the credit union. If they each asked a good question and participated in a short presentation on the importance of good finances, they could get a free lunch.

Local Woodmen Rangers Donate Two New Computers

The Milton PaTH AEP received two new laptops from the Woodmen Rangers.

Milton Standard-Journal Trip

With a lot of help from Mr. Kevin Mertz, the students were able to get an up-close and personal look at operating a local newspaper. Students observed the Milton Standard-Journal being printed, talked with the press operator, developed a plate from that day's paper, looked on as lay-out staff organized the next days advertisements, and learned from Mr. Mertz what the daily routine of a reporter is at the local paper.

The students arrived at the newspaper's office in Milton PA just as the presses started rolling. The Standard-Journal is printed late in the morning for an afternoon delivery. The chief press operator explained to the students how they had to "waste" copies as they lined up the plates. Three different color plates and a black plate need to be aligned while the press is running. This process takes time and an experienced hand. 

Students get Glimpse into Photo-Journalism

When Robert Inglis of the Sunbury Daily Item newspaper stopped by the Milton center to take pictures, he wasn't aware that the students were going to "ambush" him with questions about photo journalism. Mr. Cromley has been running a writing unit on newspapers. A copy of the Daily Item was pulled apart and taped up on the walls from the previous day's lesson. Mr. Inglis was the photographer who had taken the picture on the front page of the edition.

The students asked good questions. When asked what makes a good picture, Mr. Inglis quickly snapped a picture of the student from the front of the classroom. He then went over and took a close-up of the student. He then had the students gather around the camera and showed them the differences, explaining how angles and composition change the "feel" of the shot.

When asked about training, the importance of continuing ones education was made clear. Mr. Inglis explained that most photo-journalists have more than a high school diploma and that, in a competitive market, you need to have a solid education.

The question of ethics brought up new terms that the class had not been exposed to. "Hard News Photos" are photos that are shot live. They are not staged or posed. To do so would violate the ethics of photo-journalism. One of the few exceptions to this rule are what Mr. Inglis called "Grip and Grins", photos that you would take of a group of people at an event like an awards ceremony or ribbon cutting.

Students Ratify Class Creed

Students Ratify Class Creed.

After a two week period of review, students in Mr. Cromley and Mr. Eck's class unanimously voted to ratify the student created class creed. 

During the ceremony, presided over by Adam T., students pledged their commitment to the high ideals of their creed by signing the document. The "Signers" have already incorporated the creed into the daily routine of the classroom. The creed is also used, along with the "12-steps to become positive" and academic performance, to assess student performance and assign student ratings.

  

Philadelphia Fieldtrip

Five Milton AEP students and two teachers trekked to the National Constitution Center to further their studies of our countries founding.

Mr. Eck and Mr. Cromley started the day with a 5:30 AM stop for coffee and Red Bull. Then they spent the next two hours zig zagging across central PA, picking up students in Millville, Sunbury, Selinsgrove, and Mount Pleasant Mills. After all five students were on-board, the group headed south. A breakfast stop outside of Harrisburg resulted in an impromptu "town house" in the parking lot of Hardee's.

The trip into the city was uninterrupted, with no traffic jams or difficulty in getting into the city. After parking three stories underground and climbing their way up the steps, the students emerged onto the center of the Independence Mall.

After picking up tickets for the Independence Hall tour, the class checked into the National Constitution Center. The first activity was a presentation titled “Freedom Rising”, a 17-minute multimedia theater experience with the story of the U.S. Constitution being related through a live actor. The theater-in-the-round incorporates 360° projection, surprise scenic elements, theatrical lighting, and a dynamic surround soundtrack. 

Students Model Constitutional Convention

Social Studies, Literature, and Writing classes combined for a very important cross-curricular unit to start out the school year. After reading numerous pieces of writing dealing with morals and character values, students discussed, debated, and created a meaningful Class Creed.

In Mr. Eck's social studies class, students studied the early history of our countries government. The Articles of Confederation were studied and the flaws of our countries first "constitution" were discussed. Understanding the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation, students then learned how Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, John Jay, John Adams, and other early leaders advocated for a second convention.

Mr. Cromley focused the language arts classes on readings that dealt with the importance of strong character values and a moral foundation. Students read ancient creeds like the Athenian Oath. They reviewed contemporary pieces like the Boy Scout Oath and The American Creed. Other popular pieces - "Everything I need to know I learned in kindergarten", "Law of the Jungle", and "Charge of the Light Brigade" - were compared to the normative system of the PATH Alternative Ed. program.

Ms. Steph introduced the Path of Life Model, discussing the values and healthy traits that are the foundation of the model. As part of the therapeutic group, traits of successful students were also discussed.

Using the knowledge and wisdom acquired in their studies, the students modelled our countries founding fathers and convened a student convention to discuss the creation of a student oath or creed. Mr. Cromley presented "The rules of discussions" and the students debated on what they felt needed to be included in their resolution. By the end of the week, a rough draft had been agreed upon. The students agreed to postpone ratification of the document to allow a time for reflection. If any parts needed to be changed, they would reconvene. 

Zombie Apocalypse Threatens Start of School Year

Along with the typical "start of the school year" activities - reviewing the student handbook, discussing program norms, taking standardized assessment tests - students were informed that they would be test subjects in an Umbrella Corporation experiment (It's a zombie/Resident Evil thing - ask your teenager). Fearing for their lives, the students formulated an escape plan. After by-passing the research facilities security and navigating their way through a monstrous zombie-spider's web, they were relentlessly pursued by brain hungry zombies. Sadly, many of the students were bitten by the zombies and eventually succumbed to the zombie virus, becoming mindless beasts themselves. The remaining students managed to assemble the components for an anti-virus and deliver it to a special recovery team. The valiant efforts of the student have protected Milton from the devastations of a zombie epidemic.

Well . . . OK. That didn't really happen, but it was the scenario played out over the first week of school during several team-building exercises.

Six students and 3 staff participated in the orientation week activities. After some ice-breakers, the class took on the challenge of the Spider Web. The team needed to get from one side of an enormous spider web to the other without touching the web. Each opening in the web could only be used once. Effective communication and entrusting others were skills emphasized.

The next day everyone played in a zombie themed game dreamed up by Mr. Cromley. The rules of the game will be published in another post. The game involved a lot of running, balloons tied to players to represent brains, brain hungry zombies, and (did I mention?) lots of running.

On the last day of orientation week, students learned how to use a GPS. Then, using GPS coordinates that would lead to the zombie anti-virus, the class hiked to the Milton State Park and recovered the anti-virus. En-route, they were required to overcome "pit-falls" or team-building challenges. An important lesson was learned about the importance of working together when some students attempted to clear an obstacle without assistance. They were, as individuals, unsuccessful. Nearly half of the group did not make it across when individuals tried to cross. When the team communicated with each other and worked together the challenge was easily mastered.

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After locating the anti-virus, participants met for a barbecue. Discussion during the group meal reflected on the lessons learned during the week.

COUNTDOWN WIDGETS

Ginger Bread Houses

New Officers Elected and Sworn In

December started with students campaigning for class offices. Students wrote speeches and participated in guided debates on December first and second.

Elections were held on December fifth. Dakota B. was elected to serve as "The Bull" (class president), Jeremy L. won a tight race for the position of Sergeant-of-Arms, and students elected Whitney D. to serve as class quarter-master. Austin H. was appointed to serve in the capacity academic liaison (PAL).

Matt K. retired from the Bull position and passed the gavel onto Dakota.

New students were invited to sign the class pledge and make a commitment towards academic excellence.

Students Create and Send Christmas Cards to Troops

Under the direction of Ms. Michelle, Milton AEP Students created dozens of Christmas Cards to send to American Service Men and Women serving overseas.

Jose' Earns Honors Status - Pledge to Community

Jose' became the first student of the 2011-2012 school year to complete his Pledge Log and become an Honors Member. After completing the extensive Pledge Log, Jose' presented himself before a board of adults from the community. His progress in the program was reviewed by them. After passing the review board, Jose' needed to complete a pledge to the community. 

Williamsport versus Milton Flag Football Championship

The Williamsport center AEP made, what has become, its annual visit to the Milton State Park for the flag football championship. And, as has been the case since the Milton center and Williamsport center have started this Fall football tradition, Milton reigned the victor!

Both teams fought competitively and with great sportsmanship.  

New PATH Academic Liaison Sworn In

Austin H. was sworn in as the Academic Liaison on Friday, October 7th. Austin was chosen by his peers to fill the vacancy created when the PAL moved to the position of class quartermaster.

Students raise $255 for St. Jude Children's Hospital

Students at the PA Treatment & Healing Alternative Education Program participated in the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital MATH-ATHON. 


They participated in this fundraising program to raise money that will help St. Jude Children's Research Hospital find new treatments for cancer and other catastrophic diseases. You still can help St. Jude continue its life-saving work against pediatric diseases with your donation. You can check our schools progress and donate at our MATH-ATHON Website.

Participating in this program benefited our students by giving them a reason to “do math”. Scholastic Books will providde each participant a workbook to complete.

In addition, helping others may be the most important lesson our students learn.


At the conclusion of our official MATH-ATHON, the students had raised $255. Thanks for helping us reach our goal for the kids of St. Jude!

Milton Regional Sewer Authority Field Trip

Students have been studying cellular biology for the first weeks of school. For a culminating activity, the students of Mr. Eck and Coach Kiss's class visited the Milton Regional Sewer Authority.

Why, you might ask, would we want to visit a waste water treatment plant? They process . . . well . . . you know - waste water.

The answer to why is in knowing how waste water is treated. Milton's sewer plant uses bacteria to digest the organic materials in the towns waste water. Currently the plant uses aerobic bacteria to digest the wastes. The trip to the sewer plant gave the students the opportunity to meet with a bacteria guru, Mr. George Myers, the plant superintendent. Mr. Myers explained how the plant cleans and sanitizes hundreds of thousands of gallons of waste water, not only from the homes of Milton, but also the Con Agra plant. Mr. Myers explained how over 70% of the water they treat is high energy (sub par noodles and other food stuff is suspended or dissolved in it) waste water from the food plant.

While touring the facility, Mr. Myers described how oxygen in added to the mix of brown water to help with the aerobic respiration process that allows the bacteria to digest the wastes. The brown color of the water, it turns out, is from the bacteria. Waste water, when in enters in the plant, looks closer to river water and doesn't have the brown color seen in the large tanks at the plant.

Mr. Myers also described the massive upgrades planned for the plant, dubbed Ww2E - Waste water to Energy. Using aerobic bacteria requires a lot of electrical energy to run the aerators and wastes the energy stored in the high energy waste water from Con Agra. Under the new design, the aerobic bacteria will be changed to anaerobic bacteria. These bacteria require less oxygen and will produce methane, a combustible gas. The methane will be captured and used to run electrical generators that will, in turn, make the plant energy independent. The plant will power itself.

George's guided discovery of how both aerobic and anaerobic process worked solidified key concepts taught by Coach Kiss in the science class. It also gave the students a valuable lesson in resource management.

Officers Elected

As part of an ongoing study of The Constitution and American Civics, the students of the downstairs class modeled and held their own elections.






Elections for the four offices were held on September 26. Matt K. was elected "The Bull" or Class President. Jeremy L. was selected by his peers to serve as the Sergeant-at-Arms (sort of a cross between Vice-President and Sheriff) and Dakota B. was chosen to serve as Quarter-Master. The most contested position was the PATH Academic Liaison (PAL). After a round speeches by the four candidates, the class responded to the sincere and heartfelt comments of Jose C.. Jose explained how he wishes to demonstrate that he can be a responsible and motivated student so that he can return to his home school district.


The following day, during a special ceremony that included the signing of the Downstairs Class Pledge, the officers were sworn into their positions. They will serve in these offices until the end of the marking period.